EDC's that work well in the kitchen?

[pinnah]

I love my opinels and agree that they make nice pocket, lunch box, or even kitchen utility knives, but quantity food prep requires a specialized blade if it is expected to be accomplished in a efficient and timely manner.

This isn't in dispute and I suspect that the OP, who is a professional chef, agrees.

I don't think this thread is about what works best for high quantity food prep. It's about an EDC pocket knife that won't suck when pressed into kitchen duty.

So I'm a professional cook by trade and unfortunately, I do not have the luxury of being able to carry a good knife around with me all the time just due to size and lack of sheathes for most kitchen blades, so I was considering picking up a folding EDC just so that I would never be without a nice, sharp blade for food prep at other peoples homes or even just eating or whatever. And general knife uses as well of course.

 

[Insipid Moniker]

Sorry but pocket knives can't do this

[video=youtube;iN0CuN7jCk4]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iN0CuN7jCk4&index=11&list=UUkE72g0z7rtIEX1YJwB1B4w[/video]


Perhaps you could wrap a nice value priced gyuto up and store it in your trunk for those times when you need to help out in someone kitchen.

Along with a reasonably priced splitting maul in case you want to split some wood for a fire, a discount chainsaw for the times when their may be a tree blocking the road, a set of chisels for notching wood to make some traps, maybe a cheap honesuki in case they need a chicken boned, etc.

The right tool for the job is a great philosophy to have, but I think we all have to understand it can quickly get past the point of diminishing returns. A hatchet isn't the ideal tool to split wood, but it will do well enough to keep me warm and I don't have to lug around a maul or full sized axe. Heck, even most gyutos and chef's knives are something of a compromise when you compare them to more specialized kitchen knives.

 

[zrfunited]

Kershaw's Skyline works great as a utility/paring knife. The geometry is is thin and it slices incredibly well. There is an online retailer that has an s30v version is you want a premium steel. However, the standard steel is quite serviceable. If you got a FFG Endura, it would probably be a good fit. The sabre ground Endura would bind in most mediums while cutting in the kitchen.

 

[davek14]

Well... they sell Opinels at Williams Sonoma if that means anything.

 

[Miao]

Why would I carry a bag with me wherever I go? And, personally, I don't fancy getting arrested on the off chance the bag gets searched. I often end up in kitchens when I don't plan to be, otherwise I can bring a knife roll, and as for durability, try dropping your chef knife onto concrete. Most of my folders and camp knives can handle a drop just fine, my kitchen knives are made to perform and most of them stay far away from things like frozen foods and chicken bones, much less cement.

You're making a ridiculous strawman argument. No one here is talking about chopping 5 pounds of root vegetables with a folder, we're discussing tools that will do an adequate job in unexpected circumstances. Really, unless you actually carry a chef's knife with you all the time your entire argument is just silly.

There's also the minor point that there are, indeed, folders and camp knives that have thin stock, flat grinds (though I prefer convex on a kitchen knife), and balance around the bolster. The length is the only thing they lack from your list and that's the main characteristic that makes a chef's knife difficult to transport.

Okay, point by point:
1) I don't know about you, but there's a limited number of scenarios where I might end up in a kitchen that's not my own. Those scenarios almost always involve overnight trips - visiting family, going to a cabin, that sort of deal. In those scenarios I always have a bag, as would most people.
2) Why would you be arrested for possessing a tool with a perfectly fine reason to transport it? Unless you're brandishing it in public, you're no more likely to be arrested with a kitchen knife in your bag than you are with a pair of pliers.
3) all knives can break, sure, and some break more easily than others. But if a knife is tough enough for the task, it's not fragile. Dropping on cement is not a task for a knife.
4) not a strawman. We're in fact NOT discussing unexpected cooking, since we're discussing what tool to bring for the situation. You can use the pommel of a kabar to hammer nails, but if someone asked which knife is best for hammering nails, wouldn't you suggest bringing a hammer instead? I carry a chef's knife along if I reasonably expect I might be cooking in a place that won't have one. This thread is about what folder to bring for that exact same occasion. My take on that is that it is by definition the wrong tool for the job.

 

[bdmicarta]

Some months ago I made a batch of chili, cubing the meat with my Spyderco Mule XHP. I've made 2 batches since then, including a batch today. Today I cubed 4.5 pounds of meat. So I've cubed 11.5 pounds of meat and haven't sharpened the knife yet.

It really does need scales though. I had intended to make my own scales, I just haven't gotten around to it yet.

 

[WuGod]

My friends know that I am a pretty good cook (nothing like you pro chefs, of course) and I end up getting pushed into helping prep a lot, peeling carrots or hacking taters, trimming fat, smashing garlic or whatever.
All my friends/families knives are dull. Always. It drives me nuts. So I carry one of those Smiths 3 way pull thru knife sharpeners when I think I am going to get put on KP and pick the knife I like best out of the drawer and spend 5 minutes getting it sharp enough to be usable. They are smaller than the smallest EDC Id use for food prep, I still get to use a nice big kitchen knife, dont have to clean my folder and usually end up sharpening the rest of the knife drawer in trade for never having to get up to get another beer or mixing another drink Win win for me, I find knife sharpening relaxing lol.

 

[dogstar]

"Anything FFG" - agree!
"It's fun to cook with your EDCs" - agree!

Svord Peasant, anyone? It's FFG-ish

 

[The_Knife_Man]

Large CRK micarta insingo
Paramilitary 2
Bradford Knives Guardian3

 

[Franz_N]

I thought a Emerson persian was great for this.